Published 5:30 am, Monday, April 7, 2008

But on Sunday, it was Davydenko holding the championship trophy to cheers from a sellout crowd. He beat Rafael Nadal 6-4, 6-2 and became the first Russian man to win Key Biscayne.

In recent months, Davydenko has been best known for an ATP investigation into heavy wagering on a match he lost last August at an obscure tournament in Poland. He retired in the third set, citing a foot injury, and says he did nothing wrong.

He has accused the ATP of dragging out the investigation, but it proved not to be a distraction at Key Biscayne.

"It's not every day in my mind," he said. "It's in my mind if you ask me about this ... I don't think about the investigation."

There was no question about his effort against Nadal. Davydenko broke at love to take the lead for good at 4-3 in the first set, and in the second set he lost only two of 19 points on his serve to pull away.

When the No. 4-seeded Davydenko belted one final forehand winner on championship point, he grinned and shook his fists, then punched the air.

Davydenko, who defeated Roddick in the semifinals, overcame a match point in the second round against Ernests Gulbis and became the fourth ATP player in 2008 to win a title after facing match point.

"He's playing unbelievable tennis," the No. 2-seeded Nadal said. "People like to write more about Roger, about me, about Andy. People outside tennis can think different about Nikolay, but we know he's a very, very good player."

Davydenko is ranked fourth and has finished each of the past three years in the top five. But he has yet to reach a Grand Slam final, and the Key Biscayne title was only his second in a Masters Series event.

Davydenko quickly became comfortable with a new racket model he tried for the first time at Key Biscayne. He used the same racket in all six matches.

"I have only one," he said. "Surprising I didn't break a string. Warm up and play match, warm up and play match, every match, and I finish with the racket."